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Bad meat: Be informed!
"Beginning next month, consumers will be able to check an online list of stores that sold or stocked recalled meat. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) secretary Ed Shafer said the move is designed to prevent stores from continuing to sell tainted food and, also, alert consumers who might be at risk if they shopped at certain markets."
Finally! They should do this with other foods too, especially produce, which they also discuss briefly in the article. "Beginning next month, consumers will be able to check an online list of stores that sold or stocked recalled meat. U.S. Department of... more -
E. coli Outbreak Leads to Massive Beef Recall
According to the findings of an investigation led by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service at two processing plants which collaborated with Nebraska Beef, the E. coli outbreak happened because some production practices held under insanitary conditions. Apparently, the company’s efforts to ensure a properly clean production process were insufficient, at least against the E. coli bacteria, that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in severe cases kidney failure.
According to the findings of an investigation led by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service at two processing plants which coll... more -
USDA refuses to admit what 50 million organic consumers know: organic food is heal...
Mum's the word among federal officials about the health benefits of eating organic foods.
The Department of Health and Human Services defers questions about organic foods to the Food and Drug Administration. But the FDA has no policy on organics because it says they're the domain of the Department of Agriculture, which will admit to using the "o-word," but says its mandate is simply to regulate use of the certified organic label, not to judge the relative benefits of organic versus conventional foods.
While the agencies entrusted with safeguarding our food and health pass the potato, a fast-growing body of scientific literature suggests that the connection between farm practices and the healthfulness of our foods merits attention.
Researchers at the University of California at Davis found that 10-year mean levels of quercetin were 79 percent higher in organic tomatoes than in conventional tomatoes, and that levels of kaempferol were 97 percent higher. Quercetin and kaempferol are flavonoids that studies suggest protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer and other age-related ills.
Another Davis study compared organic and conventional kiwis and found that "all the main mineral constituents were more concentrated in the organic kiwifruits, which also had higher ascorbic acid (a precursor of vitamin C) and total phenol content, resulting in a higher antioxidant activity."
A Spanish study measured 1.5 times more carotenoids - associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers - in peppers grown organically.
And Swiss researcher Lukas Rist found that mothers consuming at least 90 percent of their dairy and meat from organic sources have 36 percent higher levels of rumenic acid in their milk. Research suggests rumenic acid may deter cancer and diabetes, and preserve and improve immune system functions.
These and other studies give hope that organic farming can reverse the nutrient decline of fruits and vegetables that appears to accompany the widespread use of agricultural chemicals and produce varieties selected primarily for yield. And while it's true that nutrition science is still a long way from understanding what the amount of a specific nutrient in a tomato, kiwi or glass of milk means for overall health, ignoring the opportunity to improve the nutrient density of foods at the foundation of the USDA's food pyramid seems foolhardy.
Refusing to enter the discussion about how farming methods affect the nutrient density of our food helps our government duck the question of why it lends so much support to the status quo of conventional, nonorganic agriculture. But failing to acknowledge the connection between what happens on the farm and the healthfulness of foods may be enough to make a nation sick.
Mum's the word among federal officials about the health benefits of eating organic foods. ... more -
What's really in the food you eat?
Discovering what's really in the food you eat can be depressing. You've surely heard that Americans eat as much as two pounds of insects per year without knowing it. But that seems pretty benign compared with the other stuff you may be ingesting. Pesticides, rodent droppings, way more fat than you had ever imagined... Fortunately there are web resources to scare you / gross you out / educate you about what you're throwing down the hatch. This new information may not keep you from your favorite greasy spoon — nor should it — but it may help you choose some healthier or more sanitary options for your general snacking and dining. Discovering what's really in the food you eat can be depressing. You've surely heard that Americans eat as much as two pounds of insec... more
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Sugar is the heroin of the masses: Advice on how to kick it
Dr. Neal Barnard MD is to vegetarianism what Al Gore is to environmentalism. His lectures on the benefits of a plant based diet are smart, entertaining, down to earth, and offer hope rather than peddling despondency.
The son of a cattle rancher, Barnard trained is psychiatry, but has spent much of his life focusing on the impact of diet on human health. He had a job at McDonald's while at high school, but, while working as an assistant at a morgue during a year out before medical school, experienced first hand exactly what a modern Western diet does to the insides of those laid out on the morticians slab. He now serves as PETA's medical adviser, and is a committed, and evangelical, vegetarian. But don't let that put you off. Whether you're a carnivore or a herbivore, we can all benefit (and indeed have) from the good doctor's wit and wisdom.
As the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (an organization which Bernard founded in 1985), he took the government to task for their fudged dietary guidelines.
"Of the 11 members on the committee, six of them had ties to the dairy industry, meat industry or egg industry," says Bernard. After he prevailed in court, the government issued radically revised guidelines in January 2005 (though as we mentioned in our previous story, these guidelines still massively underestimate the servings of fruit and veg needed for a healthy diet).
Barnard believes that much of the illness we experience today is a result of what we eat, and that much of what we eat is addictive, and pushed on us by food corporations whose major concern is the size of their own bottom lines, rather than the size of our bottoms.
In his book, Breaking The Food Seduction, Barnard writes about the opiate effects of foods, and gives advice on how to kick our bad food habits. He reveals that sugar works like heroin, and dairy like morphine, so it's not surprising that the food industry has us right where they want us, craving our next chocolate fix.
For those in need of a dietary intervention, he suggests that you familiarize yourself with the four new food groups (grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit) and give them a three-week trial period (which will give your body, and your taste buds, enough time to adapt). For those ready to cut the beef and go cold turkey, go to the link above for seven basic tips.
Dr. Neal Barnard MD is to vegetarianism what Al Gore is to environmentalism. His lectures on the benefits of a plant based diet are s... more -
Beef recalled by USDA; Cows set to die were 'mistreated'
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle.
Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats.
The federal agency said the recall will affect beef products dating to February 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., which supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and to some major fast-food chains. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that... more
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